Dr Penelope Jones is a Senior Research Fellow at the Menzies Institute for Medical Research and a Senior Lecturer in Biological Sciences at the University of Tasmania. She has a multi-sectoral and trans-disciplinary background, combining cabinet-level government experience in environmental policy with research spanning palaeoecology, archaeology, aerobiology, education for sustainability, and environmental health. Using the medium of pollen as a bridge, her research focus has evolved from characterising past climates and environments to understanding the impacts of air pollution, climate change and the aerial microbiome on human health.

Dr Jones is a member of the Healthy Environments and Lives Network and the Air Quality Impact Priority of the Sustainable Communities and Waste Hub, and is an affiliate of the NHMRC Centre for Safe Air. She has made substantial contributions to air quality communication, including co-developing the award-winning short course ‘Bushfires and Your Health.’